Chapter 42: Part 42

/Abel's POV/

I peered at the omega in my bed, her delicate features scrunched up and eyelids twitching as she slowly fluttered her eyes. Her lips parted, no sound escaping them as she undoubtedly felt the repercussions of an intense orgasm. At least from what it looked like.

I scooted up the bed when her unfocused gaze fluttered around the room, taking in the dim glow before she made an attempt to get out of the cocoon of pillows and a heavy duvet surrounding her.

"Baby..." I whispered while placing a hand round her bare waist, my voice dropping low not to startle her.  "Hey. Are you okay?"

She met my eyes, a flush sitting on the apple of her cheeks, and she parted her lips in an attempt to reply, but the only sound that came out was a raspy cough, enough for tears to trickle down her pale but blotchy cheeks.

I held my breath as she threw her arms around my neck, closing the distance between our lips. It's a far cry from the kiss we had shared on countless occasions, my body going lax with her weight pressing flush against me. For a moment, I was too stunned to move or react in any way whatsoever; my mind was so stuck on what she had done.

I bought my other hand to wrap around her, manoeuvring so we were practically chest to chest. A bit of squeezing on her side, and she angled her head, letting the lids flutter shut, giving in to the pressure of my mouth, parting her lips with a hiss. It's too lazy and messy, but it's everything these couple of hours have been; pulsing and full of heat.

Raising my hand, I cradled her jaw before tugging the limp omega forward. Emma was easy to follow, clambering onto my lap eagerly and straddling me. I could feel her body squirm and wound up in between my legs, her small, delicate fingers carding into my hair timidly.

I was hard underneath her, the outline of my cock sliding between her naked cheeks. The sensation was intoxicating, eliciting a shiver and whimper from Emma that I greedily swallowed up. She was grinding into it as if marveling at the sheer size of my cock.

"I-I need your knot..." Emma blinked as she pulled away, a glaze in her eyes. "Alpha."

A low rumble originated in my chest, especially knowing she's my true mate. Before I could reply, we heard the jiggling of the keys and froze. She turned pale when she looked at me, pushing at my shoulder. My mouth slacked as I saw that my door was only slightly ajar.

"You told me Edward was away!" She hissed, scrambling to find her clothes scattered around the bed, her bare legs covered in slick. I tore my eyes away, springing into action and shutting the door with a slam.

"Moons..." The curse flew out of her as she bent down to retrieve the clothes strewn on the floor.

"He was supposed to be on a date!"

Emma threw her arms in the air, almost flailing them. I tried to hold onto her, but she slapped my arm away while getting dressed in a hurry. "This is worst!"

"Calm down, will you?"

Her nostrils flared. "He will kill you. Do you get that?"

"I do!"

"Distract him while I sneak away." She jumped, trying to button at her lacy bra, her chest heaving. My eyes trained on the marks littered in the valley of her breasts, feeling a sick sense of pride. That's not what I should be thinking about.

I gaped at her like she had grown a second head, eyes unblinking. "Huh? How are you going to do that?"

"That's for me to worry."

She pulled her hair atop and tied them messily, all while her eyes fixated on the open doors of our connecting balcony.

"No!"

"We don't have an option." She said in a low whisper when I heard the sounds of footsteps approaching my room. Emmas face paled, and she hurriedly rushed to the balcony door, slipping in and shutting it behind her.

As my shoulders sagged, I turned to the door, messily running my hand through my hair. The smell of slick was still pungent and suffocating in the room. Shaking my head, I blew a breath and twisted the knob before he had the chance to knock.

"Edward!" I blurted out, probably blinking rather dumbly at the man in front of me. "What are you doing here?"

His face twisted. "H-How did you...Doesn't matter. Are you free now?"

"For what?"

"I need someone to drink with!"

"Okay..." Before he could step in, I put a hand over his shoulder and pushed at him, effortlessly closing the door behind me.

"What are you doing?" He raised his brow, a furrow in between.

"I think we should drink in the study...I keep all my precious stuff in there."

"Oh." He bobbed his head, turning on the balls of his feet and making a beeline for the study room. A sigh relieved one that escaped my lips as I slowly followed him.

“Here.” Edward was swift in placing the glasses as he plopped on the chair, swinging his feet. A gloomy look took over him as he kept staring at the pale walls of the room.

“Was it that bad?” I called out over my shoulder, rummaging through the drawers, searching for the best bottle.

“Huh?”

“Your date. I thought you were going to be staying over.”

He shrugged.

I poured the same amount of liquid into both glasses before setting the bottle in the middle. My best friend emptied his glass in seconds and slammed it back down onto the table, his trembling fingers clasping together.

“Edward…what’s going on?”

A joyless laugh broke out of him before he could stop it, and he shook his head, plastering a wry smile onto his face. “Where do I start?”

“From the beginning.”

Edward hummed, pouring himself another peg before swirling the glass around and gulping. I did not utter a word; I just pressed my lips together and looked at my friend, and felt how the air inside the room shifted.

“It’s all because of her.”

“I don’t want to pry, but…what happened between you and Allie?”

He paused his action, stilling in his seat as he slowly turned to look at me, blank. “How did you know?”

I shrugged. “You have always been weird around her. It does not take a genius to figure out.”

“E-Emma doesn’t know it yet, and I would like to keep it that way.” The Alpha shook his head as if trying not to picture that scenario and how things might’ve been different. He pulled half the label off the bottle in one go, balling it up and throwing it over his shoulder and gritting his teeth. “She can never know about this, Abel. You have to promise me.”

With a concerned expression, lines appearing on my forehead, I pulled my brows together. “What’s going on? You are scaring me now.”

“First, promise me.”

I sighed. “Fine! You have my word.”

“Okay…” He straightened in the chair, setting the glass down before meeting my eyes. “She’s my mate.”

“I knew it!” I almost yelled when he glared at me. “Sorry.”

“I found out about it like every other Alpha, but my mate is not some ordinary omega. Her father is our Pack Alpha, someone I can never compete with. Naturally, it didn’t take him long to find out.”

He sighed loudly, eyes boring into his folded hands. “He made me take an oath that I will never reveal this to his daughter. And when she comes of age, I should reject her so that she can settle down with a nice, decent Alpha. That’s why I decided to go to the military in hopes that we may never have to cross paths again. Funny how that worked out.”

“I thought over the years it would be easy for me to stop thinking about her.” He let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Who am I kidding? This date was a disaster.”

Silence settled between us while I let his words sink in. I always suspected that he was hiding something, but knowing it felt worse. My friend did not deserve any of this.

“Her father doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“But he’s right in his way. What man would trust his daughter with my family’s history?”

“Do you still have feelings for her?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, it does when she got you acting like this, my friend.”

“I don’t know, okay?” He snapped, folding his arms and leaning back. Edward stared at the ceiling, a loud breath escaping him. “It feels like unfinished business. That’s all I can say for now, and it’s probably better to keep it that way.” My friend was quick to push at his chair and storm out of the room.

***